Good for You, Martin County, March 18

Martin County High School Culinary Academy Students at the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association's 12th annual ProStart Culinary Team Competitions.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Students take top honors in competition

Congratulations to Martin County High School Culinary Academy students for their outstanding performance at the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association's 12th Annual ProStart Culinary Team Competitions, which took place Feb. 24-25 in Orlando. The event included students from schools across Florida who competed in a variety of categories.

"We are incredibly proud of our culinary academy students and teacher Chef Shaun Southwick. The students have the academic, employability and technical skills required for employment in today's workforce or to continue their post-secondary education. Through this competition, our students earned thousands of dollars in scholarships to institutions such as Keiser University, Johnson and Wales, Louisiana Culinary Institute, Culinary Institute of America, and New England Culinary Institute," said Connie Scotchel-Gross, the district's coordinator of Career and Technical Education.

KMB names stewardship awards

One common thread brought groups of teenagers and retirees, CEOs and government officials, educators and conservationists together for dinner Feb. 8. Keep Martin Beautiful's (KMB) 2012 Environmental Stewardship Awards, held at Pipers Landing Yacht & Country Club, showcased 10 winners and recognized almost 60 nominees while the packed room of more than 200 guests cheered them on.

For organizations and individuals who take environmental stewardship into their own hands, KMB hosts its annual awards competition as a way to honor volunteer's efforts which align with its mission to preserve and enhance the quality of life in Martin County through litter prevention, waste reduction, beautification and community improvement and environmental stewardship education. The annual competition and awards dinner also serves as the organization's signature fundraiser.

"We're really thrilled that this awards ceremony has grown into the 'must-go-to' environmental event in Martin County," said KMB President Rhonda Irons. "It's so encouraging to see the diversity of the guests who attend every year and the range of projects and programs being undertaken by the volunteers. These are the people and groups in Martin County that Keep Martin Beautiful enjoys partnering with."

Josh Cohen, host of Josh Cohen & the Hometeam on WZZR's Real Radio, served as master of ceremonies, using his comedic talents to entertain the crowd through the presentation of the awards. Winners of the 10 Environmental Stewardship Awards include:

Business/Professional Award: Southeastern Printing Company for its "Green Ink" program, which reduces the amount of waste produced and uses eco-friendly cleaners in their printing process, reducing the entire carbon footprint of the process.

Government Agency Award: Martin County's Artificial Reef Program, which used a decommissioned tugboat to create an artificial reef as a memorial for 21-year-old Kyle Conrad, a Martin County resident who died in December 2010.

NonProfit/Civic Groups Award: The Tobacco Free Partnership of Martin County for its "Keep our Parks & Beaches Clean - Tobacco-Free Zone" project intended to reduce the amount of tobacco-related litter found at Martin County parks and beaches.

Youth/School Award: Evie Flaugh, 10, and Naia Mader, 9, for helping to establish The River Kidz, a youth organization promoting the health and sustainability of the St. Lucie River.

Unsung Hero Award: Frank Neff, the founder of nonprofit Habitat Angel, for his efforts to lead 700 volunteers to rehab 40 homes, and paint 23 homes and two churches.

Think Green Award presented by Waste Management: Zach Wilcox for his Eagle Scout project, which included improving park landscaping, new seating and a butterfly garden at Kiwanis Youth Park in Downtown Stuart, now a memorial to Michelle Radcliffe-Dutro.

AT&T Innovation Award: Felix A. Williams Elementary for Felix's Farm, a teaching garden which grows fruits and vegetables as a school-wide effort to learn about healthier eating habits and creating fresh produce to use in the school's cafeteria.

2012 Raleigh "Riley" Jackson Award: John Wakeman for his commitment to the improvement of our local ecosystems and devotion to the education of local youth about environmental stewardship for more than 25 years.

2012 KMB Community Champion Award: Jane Mills for her commitment and service to the management of the Rotary Club's RotaKids program.

KMB President's Award: The Friendly Hearts Community Gardens Park for revitalizing a neglected community playground in the Mars Hill area and transforming it into a community garden for everyone to enjoy and use to grow plants, food and flowers.

The Association of Fundraising Professionals Treasure Coast has been named a Ten Star Chapter for the second consecutive year.

Every year, AFP, the largest association of professional fundraisers in the world, honors chapters for achieving goals that align with key objectives in its long-range strategic plan. Local chapters receive the Ten Star Award for performing specific activities designed to increase professionalism within fundraising as well as community awareness on the importance of philanthropy.

"I'm honored to represent an organization that's so dedicated to being the public face of responsible, ethical, and effective philanthropy in Martin and St. Lucie Counties," said Cecelia S. DeFilippis, president of AFP Treasure Coast.

Ten Star Chapters are recognized at the AFP International Conference on Fundraising. Chapters also earn the privilege of displaying the Ten Star logo on their website, newsletters and stationary.

Criteria for the award are determined by AFP International Headquarters. A list of several goals is published annually, and chapters must accomplish 10 of these goals during the year and submit a nomination form for verification to be honored.

For more information on the Ten Star Award process, visit www.afpnet.org.

Orators vote in new officers

Palm City Orators, a local Toastmasters Club in the Palm City area, recently conducted elections for the next officer term. The year goes from July 1, 2011 till June 30, 2012.

The Palm City Orators Toastmasters club is a friendly and supportive group that works with its members through a self-paced program to build confidence with public speaking and leadership. If it is not fun, it is not Toastmasters.

Meetings are the first and third Tuesday of the month at the AECOM office in Palm City at 3550 S.W. Corporate Parkway from noon to 1 p.m. Visitors are welcome. For more information, visit pcorators.freetoasthost.us.

For her senior class project, second vice president of student government Alexa Rimmer invited her father, Dr. John A. P. Rimmer, to speak to more than 300 young female seniors at Jupiter High School about breast diagnostic testing. A well-known breast surgeon, Dr. Rimmer focused on the place of genetic risk, family history, the BRCA gene and the value of early testing in his presentation. Amy Shaman, a breast cancer previvor, also spoke to students about breast health and testing. Information was made available to students about the full range of diagnostic testing available at the Margaret W, Niedland Breast Center at Jupiter Medical Center.

Daughter of Dr. John A. P. Rimmer and Dr. Sylvie Rimmer, Rimmer first thought up this idea last year. As senior vice president of student government, she recruited a small committee of students to help plan the event.

The day following the presentation, her and her fellow students conducted a bake sale to benefit the Kristin Hoke Breast Health Program at Jupiter Medical Center. Students raised money for the Kristin Hoke Breast Health Program and were excited to contribute. "The students learned a lot from my dad's talk," said Rimmer. "Now we realize the importance of getting tested, and we wanted to do something special to help. A lot of girls misunderstand their risk factors and are just uninformed. They need to be educated. I know there are lots of resources at JMC, and I wanted my dad to tell students these are available."

To conclude Alexa's community service project, more than 100 Jupiter High School students participated in the Komen Race for a Cure on Jan. 20. For more information on Jupiter Medical Center's breast care services, call 561-575-2000. The Margaret W. Niedland Breast Center is located at 1025 Military Trail, Suite 200 in Jupiter.

New additions to Samaritan Board

There was a changing of the guard at the Jan. 17 board meeting for Samaritan Center for Young Boys & Families. During the meeting, Dan Gescheidle "termed off" the board and Doug Porter was named as the new board chair.

Porter is the president of the William B. Porter Group and serves on the board of Gulfstream Business Bank and the Martin Memorial Hospital Advisory Board. Porter resides in Jupiter with his wife, Stacy, and is the father of three sons.

At the same meeting, David Alexander was unanimously voted in as a new member of the Samaritan Center board. Residing in Stuart with his wife, Ella, Alexander has been involved with numerous professional and philanthropic boards since the early 1990s.

Murphy Moore became the newest Samaritan Center board member at a meeting conducted Feb. 21. Moore is a financial advisor with Merrill Lynch/Bank of America and is an active member of the Mariner Sands community along with his wife, Sally.

A Christian-based, residential, early intervention program, Samaritan Center addresses the behavioral and academic issues of young boys at risk. Providing love, education and discipline to young boys and their families, Samaritan Center keeps families together and boys out of the juvenile court system to become contributors to our community. It also provides counseling and parenting classes to the families to address the home environment as part of our restorative and preventative program. And it all happens without government funding.

Samaritan Center for Young Boys & Families is a nonprofit organization.

3 make honor roll at Kansas

Laura Elizabeth Jewett of Jensen Beach was named to the honor roll at the University of Kansas for the fall 2011 semester. She is a senior in nursing.

Jordan Leanne Watkins of Jupiter was named to the honor roll. She is a senior in architectural studies.

Tansey Pauline Schoonover of Vero Beach was named to the honor roll. She is a freshman in behavioral neuroscience.

Yates makes dean's list at Cornell

Cornell University's Christopher Yates of Port Saint Lucie has been placed on the dean's list of the College of Arts and Sciences for Excellence in Scholarship for the fall 2011 semester.

The College of Arts and Sciences is Cornell University's largest undergraduate college. It provides a high-quality liberal arts education to its own students, and its courses are also accessible to all other students at Cornell. The college's faculty includes national and international leaders in their respective disciplines.

Berner makes UCF dean's list

Amy Berner of Jensen Beach made the dean's list at the University of Central Florida for the Fall 2011 semester. Berner is a junior, majoring in elementary education.

Tranter makes USC dean's list

John (Jack) E. Tranter Jr. has been named to the dean's list at the University of South Carolina for the fall semester. Tranter obtained a 3.85 GPA for the fall semester. He is studying international business at South Carolina.

Little League program off to good start

The Challenger Little League "Team Buddies" program is off to a great season. Jill Marasa, program coordinator, and dozens of volunteers, came out to Sailfish Park to support this amazing program. The focus of this program is having fun while learning the fame of baseball. Each player is partnered with a "buddy" to assist players throughout the game. Kim Ruperto, mother of player says, "It is exciting to see families so enthusiastic about the game. My family appreciates Jill Marasa and all the volunteers who came to give their support. Jill is fantastic. Her passion is demonstrated by her willingness to provide a remarkable learning experience on the field."